Churn



April 2,1946; A. c. HOUGLAND ET AL 2,397,488

- I CHURN Filed Dec. 2, 1942 g g 'j Patented Apr. 2, 1946 oFricE Albert C. Hougland andfGlen'S. Hougland,

-NewYork,N.-Y.

ApplicationDecember 2, 19142;:Sglfifil No. 467,610

6 Claims.

This invention; relates to churnsof the type adapted to be operated. continuously to, receive cream atone end andto discharge the butter and buttermilk at the other end.

The principal objects, of. our invention are; to provide a novel churn having the advantages of large capacity and low. cost of operationire sulting from continuous operation and improved durability and sanitation resulting from all metal construction such that all interior surfaces are readily accessible for scrubbing and sterilizing treatment.

Other objects will appear and be more fully pointed out in the following specification and claims having reference to the accompanyin drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through our improved churn and illustrating diagrammatically suitable mechanism for separating the butter product from the buttermilk and for washing the butter as a continuous operation;

Fig. 2 is a cross section through the separating mechanism taken on the line 2--2'of -'Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the churn taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the agitating elements of the churn.

As illustrated, our churn'has a cylindrical casing idisposed with itsaxis vertical-and provided with an outer casing *6 which is spaced from the casing to provide a jacket space 1 through which .Water or other fluid for controlling the temperature of the churn maybe circulated. Connections .for the temperature control 'fluid comprise an inlet pipe 8 communicating with the lower portion of the jacket spaceand an .outlet ipe 9 communicating with itsiupperportion. Cream maybe lied to. the churn through an inlet pipe 10 which communicates with the bottomoi the churn under, control of a valve H. From the upper portion of the casing 5, the butterandybuttermilk are discharged through-an outlet :con-

duit l2.

Extending axially from the topto the bottom of the casing Sis a power-driven shaft l3 which has an end thrust bearing 14 at the bottom of the churn and a bearing 15 formed in.-a removable cover plate l6. Fixed on theishaft [3 within the casing 5 is a series of agitating units each having a disk ll extending horizontally and. pairs of substantially vertically disposed blades il8 and l9. 'Each pair-of. blades l8 projects upward from a .disk l1 and the blades 19. project downward therefrom. The outerv peripheries of the disks 'l'l severally project radially outward from the outer' ndsioithezibladesi wandv 19 .which are disposed ver-tica ly .ands. in-parallel relation to the inn r dse cof arzpairdofrbafiles-ifl. These vbaiiles extenctraiiiallyrinward from opposite sides of the an. haveinotchesm :tovreceive he bep thedisks ll.

.illzbea y dent:-that th disks l1 constitute it. pa t ticnsc rid n it ..,e chu n in o a series Of comperti entm Olihe Only ie nece mmunication one wi h enrqueh.vthe.;sm.all annular s ee h the-c er nerinherieso the di ks I1. and .wa l; i-1t 351.3%?5- Theeiame ers. 9i hedisk L arepref rab y.somewhat educed. o ard the upper end of the casing so that the spacing of -these- .,pe pheries relative to the cylindrical wall cf; the casin in reases r gres ve y u ward t .Iacilitate the upward; passage of the globules of butter .fat. shown-in Figs. 1 and 2, thehorilolltalrarea of the assagebetween any two com- -partmentszde io xce d a minor fraction or .thelareao f aiafifi of .thedisk I1 constituting the par ition wbetween e dioi n mpa tEach.ofiheeasita orruni s ha its blades 18 and 1.9 .sii pesedea irisht an le t those of e joinin .iiniisaassho nin Fi 1- ,lo facilitate cleaning the .interior churn suria eatwe m se .the. afi es. 20. read y re b .Ihese memh s are. preferably formed with .flanges..22. ,(Elig.

)lwhich fit snugly against the nner casmasuriac T connect and pr erl locate-thememhers- .2 n t e as g, h r lower .endsare cannecte /by a spid r. 2 nd their upp r sndsiby asmsler 2.4. These. s ders are removable with .th shaft 3..ana.ae tator units from the ,tcprefthe gaiter removal of the cover plate It, Ecwer for. mt itih the. agitator units may betransmitted.throusha.pul ey 25 whi h s fixed aneutletcond-uit 30. As indicated in Fig. 2; the pan z-9-has sides 29a projecting along the edges of the be1t 26 to retain the bu tter thereon. A

- second- "pan 3 similar to the pair 29; is mounted beneath the belt 26 -tocolleet wash water which =-is--sprayed on-the -productfrom a sprayer 32 -mounted abovethebelt and beyond the pan 29.

the pans 29 and 3|.

The washed butter fat may be removed from the conveyor belt 26 as it passes around the drum 2! by a scraping device 33.

Cream is forced into the bottom of the churn cross section, the axis of said casing being substantially vertically disposed, annular partition members dividing the easing into a vertical series of compartments having restricted passages beat a controlled rate through the pipe l and is 5 tween the outer peripheries of said members and fed continuously thereby while the shaft I 3, carrying the agitating units, is continuously rotated at a fairly high speed. 'The speed of rotation usually exceeds 100 R. P. M., the most efficient said casing for the gradual upward flow of liquid and globules of fat from one compartment to another, the horizontal area of the passage between any two of said compartments being so restricted p ed be n dependent on the size of t e chur that it doesnotexceeda minor fraction of the as well as the condition and consistency of the cream. The casing 5 is gradually filled and as successive chambers between disks ll while the: fat globules increase in size from chamber to with the upper end of said casing, bafiles projectchamber. It will be evident that thechurningarea ofa face of the partition member between said compartments, means for continuously sup- 7 the cream passes upward it is churned in the plying cream to the lower end of said casing, an

outlet for butter and buttermilk communicating ing inward from said casing and substantially iniS fi l lished by e rotary'bladesl |8 i' ifl; Ward; from the outer peripheries of the partition which produce the desired concussion against the u stationary baffles in eachof the compart ments between disks ll. t 7

When the top chamber has been reached a large proportion of the butter fat has been agglomerated and it finally overflows; with the buttermilk, through'the conduitl2 upon the'conveyor belt 26. This belt is operated continuously 2 at a speed which is timed with that of the rate of supply to carry the productsuccessively above In passing above the pan 29 the bulk of the buttermilk is drained oil? through the perforations in the conveyor-belt 26. 3O

Continuing on the conveyor above the pan 3 l ,the butter, is washed by the'spray 32 and is finally removed from the belt by the scraper 33; to be I thereafter worked in conventional or suitable apparatus, not'shown.

Due to the high speed and continuity of the operation the rate of production of butter by the use of our invention is high and much of the manual labor required for the batch operation of ordinary churnsis eliminated. Our machine 40 is preferably constructed from stainless steel adapted to withstand unusually high :sterilizing temperatures and having the further advantage of not being subject tofcontamination by the growth of mold and yeast germs therein, asin 4 5 ordinary woodenchurns; After suitableperiods of use the churn may be shutdown and thoroughly sterilized either bypassing hot 'water or steam through the casing. 5,without removing the agitating units, or the latter, together with the .50

baiile members 20 and axial shaft l 3,1may be removed from the top of the churn; after'removing the cover, plate. 16, for more thorough washing and removal of solid deposits from all surfaces and crevices of the working mechanism and fixed interior walls. Control of the temperature of the cream during the churning operation is often desirable and this is facilitated by circulating water or other tempering medium through the jacket space I and connecting pipes 8 and 9. a

The upward direction of flowof cream and progressive churning in'the verticalseries'of chambers is an important feature of our invention which promotes efficiency due tothe fact that the globules of butterfat, as they increase insize in Q the successive chambers, tend-to rise to the top with increased velocity. The'flow of theseglobules toward the overflow outlet is facilitated furh v g ,wa ls. o s b tantia :p i'cu ar their i near the top Of the cylindrical ,70

members toward the axis of the casing in the several compartments, an axially disposed shaft revoluble in the several compartments, means for rotating said shaft relative to the casing and baffies and a series of agitating units mounted on said shaft to coactwith said baflies in churning the cream progressively as it flows upward to said outlet. 7' Y 2. A churn'as claimed in claim 1 wherein the capacity of the successive passages between the outer peripheries of said partition members and easing increases progressively upward.

3. A continuous flow churn comprising a substantially cylindrical casing disposed with its axis substantially vertical, means for continuously supplying cream to the lower end of the said casing, an outlet for butter and buttermilk communicating with the upper end of said casing, a power-driven axially disposed shaft mounted in said casing, fixed bafi'le' plates projecting inward from the walls of said casing and extending substantially vertically therein and a multiplicity of agitating and partition units fixed on said shaft and dividing the casing into churning compartments, each of said units comprising a disk disposed horizontally with its periphery spaced from the casing and agitating blades ex tween theouter peripheries of said members and said casing for the'gradual upward flow-of the contents from: one compartment to the other, means for continuously-supplying cream to the lower end of said casing, an outlet conduit come municating with the upper end of said casing, baffles projectinginward from said casing in the several compartments, an axially disposed shaft revoluble in the several compartments, means for rotating said shaft relative to the casing and bafiles, and substantially radially [extending blades fixed on the shaft and projectingadjacent to the respective'opposed faces of the partition members definingthe several compartments, the blades in eachi compartment being disposed angularlyone ,to. the other and each having a substantially radiallyextending edge spaced substantially midway between the partition members. q

5. A continuous flow churn comprising a casing having walls of substantially circular shape in cross section disposed with its axis substantially vertical, normally stationary baflle plates projecting inward from the casing walls and extending longitudinally thereof, connections for feeding cream to the lower end of said casing, an outlet conduit communicating with the upper end of the casing for discharging butter and buttermilk therefrom, a power-driven shaft extending axially in said casing and a series of agitating and partition units fixed on said shaft in spaced relation to each other and dividing the casing into churning compartments, each of said units comprising a horizontally disposed disk having its outer periphery spaced from the Walls of said casing to afiord a restricted passageway between compartments, said baffle plates being formed with narrow horizontally extending openings in their inner edges to receive the peripheries of the several disks and blades projecting at an angle to said disks in the several compartments to ooact with said bafiies in churning the cream.

6. A continuous flow churn comprising a casing having walls of substantially circular shape in cross section disposed with its axis substantially vertical, normally stationary baflie plates projecting inward from the casing walls and extending longitudinally thereof, connections for feeding cream to the lower end of said casing, an outlet conduit communicating with the upper end of the casing for discharging butter and buttermilk therefrom, a power-driven shaft extending axially in said casing and a series of agitating and partition units fixed on said shaft in spaced relation to each other and dividing the casing into churning compartments, each of said units comprising a horizontally disposed disk having its outer periphery spaced from the walls of said casing to afford a restricted passageway between compartments and blades projecting at an angle to said disks in the several compartments to coact with said bafiles in churning the cream, said baflle plates projecting inward above the upper face and below the lower face of the several disks and the outer ends of said blades being formed and disposed to pass parallel and closely adjacent to the inner edges of said baffle plates.

ALBERT C. HOUGLAND. GLEN S. HOUGLAND. 

